Voters in Niagara Centre have elected Jeff Burch of the NDP as their MPP in the 2018 Ontario election.
Candidates
Liberals: Benoit Mercier
PC: April Jeffs
NDP: Jeff Burch (elected)
Green: Joe Dias
Global News is only featuring the candidates for the four main parties. For a complete list of candidates, visit Elections Ontario.
Geography
Niagara Centre runs from the southernmost part of St. Catharines to Lake Erie, including the cities of Welland, Thorold and Port Colborne.
History
This riding has been redrawn and renamed for the 2018 election. Formerly known as Welland, the riding no longer includes the Wainfleet Township area west of the current boundary.
Cindy Forster won the Welland seat for the NDP in 2014 with 47 per cent of the vote. In 2011, she was first elected to replace Peter Kormos, who had held ridings in the central Niagara area since 1988. Before that, NDP Mel Swart held the riding of Welland from 1975 to 1988.
By the numbers
109,070 people live in this 490 sq. km area as of 2016.